


Just A While Longer

by felassann



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 03:44:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5190893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felassann/pseuds/felassann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A winter morning allows time for quiet thought and morning cuddles. Solavellan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just A While Longer

For a moment, he was certain he still lingered in a dream. **  
**

Solas kept his eyes closed for a time, warding away the urge to wake, but the heat of skin against skin touched at his curiosity. She lay molded against him, a soothing warmth seeping into his muscles while her scent– _woods and berries_ –consumed his senses, his nose buried deep in her hair. Morning’s light had breached the horizon just enough to illuminate her long, strawberry blonde locks, and as he blinked himself to full alertness, his gaze fell to the woman he held close. Freckles dotted Yavaena’s bare shoulders, rising and falling with each even breath, and every now and then a listless sigh escaped her pouting lips.

He allowed himself a smile at the sight, reveling in the feel of her body against his. Not minutes ago were they sharing a dream, one where they walked among the gold and crimson trees of autumn–leaves crunched beneath their bare feet, a stream crawled steadily beside them, and the sun hung just below the furthest patch of trees. Yavaena had been the one to shape this dream. She told him of how she spent autumn evenings wandering the forests on her own, gathering whatever plants remained and sketching them in her journal. Their fingers had been intertwined throughout their walk, her thumb often caressing the skin of his knuckles; it was a simple gesture so comforting and heartfelt he had found himself entirely unable to keep a smile from his lips, and he didn’t want to.

It had been a very good dream.

Even now her hand was warm in his, their fingers laced together perfectly. It was true emotions could be deeper felt in the Fade, yet here in the waking world the feeling was just as intense, and adoration bloomed in his chest like a flower upon waking to the morning sun. How long had it been since he had felt anything like this, had the pleasure of holding someone he truly cared for in his arms, so entwined that even while awake he could find happiness?

His gaze went the balcony doors where a thin sheet of frost clung to the glass, and a light snow carried by the mountain wind fell. He remembered the dream, the golden leaves and trickling stream. How quickly time seemed to pass now when compared to so long ago, when he was surrounded by those who experienced time as he did,  when “time,” was but a simple idea, not a restraint. A flood of guilt rushed through him like a raging storm and it felt as if every muscle strained under the emotion. He looked to the woman in his arms, _his vhenan_ , and couldn’t keep his own heart from plummeting into his stomach. She deserved so much more than the handful of years she had been given, to experience as many beautiful autumn evenings as he had, and more.

And the blame lay with him.

Solas pulled Yavaena tighter against himself in an attempt to drive off the feelings of guilt threatening to ruin this rare moment of tranquility. Unlacing their fingers, he occupied his thoughts with the feel of her skin beneath the tips of his own as he traced her arm from the freckles on her shoulders to the tips of her fingers, lifting them gently to study. Then she stirred and he ceased for just a moment, watching as her forest-colored eyes fluttered to make sense of the world around her.

Yavaena rolled over in his arms, a soft hum behind her lips as she made herself comfortable against him once more: her nose in the crook of his neck, her bare legs finding his own and easily entangling them. He let her adjust, pulling their blanket over her shoulders when she lay still in their embrace.

“Good morning,” she murmured, her warm breath a tickle on his skin.

“ _Vhenan_ ,” he greeted, feeling her grin against his neck.

They lay in a comfortable silence for a long while, Yavaena falling in and out of sleep while he kept busy running his fingers down her back. He enjoyed the occasional shivers he induced, the thankful sighs and nuzzles from her nose to continue. Moments turned to minutes and, reluctantly, Solas moved to tangle his fingers loosely in her hair.  
  


“Should we not begin our day,  _Vhenan_?”

Yavaena hummed again, this time accented with a light note of objection. “Hmm, no.”

He chuckled. “You set a fine example for others to follow.”

“ _I_ think so,” she laughed, looking up to him from beneath her lashes. “ _Vhenan_ , let’s just…for a while longer…”

He felt it deep in his chest, the desire to remain just like this for as long they possibly could, an ache to keep her here in his arms. To forget, even for just a moment, the vast sorrow rooted in his heart. Yavaena rested her lips on his skin before trailing them up his neck, placing chaste kisses along the line of his jaw and finally settling on his lips. Her palm found Solas’ cheek, leaning into him when he pulled her even closer, her own knee pressing into his backside to aid his efforts. Not close enough, never close enough. A hitch in her breath allowed him entrance and she teased his tongue with her own, earning a contented rumble from deep within his chest. A sigh tumbled from her lips when his hand fell to her waist and lower; she reciprocated by wrapping her arms about him, nails lightly digging into the skin of his back.

Brushing the tips of his fingers down her ear he broke the kiss, and as one their eyes found each other, a fond smile on both their lips. Yavaena took her time studying his face–she loved how his pale blue eyes seemed to ignite in the sun’s light, the way his brows arched just slightly when looking at her, waiting for her to speak, to ask, to wonder, his face softening with each breath.

Wordlessly, she rested her head against Solas’ chest, all thought of abandoning their embrace long forgotten.

Yes, they could stay like this, for just a while longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Is it too early for winter morning cuddles?


End file.
